For some reason (I want to remember you)
by Lady StarFlower
Summary: He meets a golden haired girl in the streets. He walks on by. In which none of the Dragonslayers remember their magic or their partners. Natsu/Lucy, Gajeel/Levy, and other Dragonslayer pairings inside.


He meets a golden-haired girl in the streets.

She glances at him, a look of pained hope in her face. She greets him casually, cautiously, and he returns the greeting just as casually. She waves with her right hand, and he looks at the mark on her hand with mingled curiosity and perplexity.

For some inane reason, he wants to grab it and pull her close, to sling his arm around her pale shoulders and laugh over a joke, but he doesn't.

He just walks by, and gives her nothing more than a cursory glance.

Natsu could've sworn she winced.

O.O

"Have you found anything yet, Levy?"

"Not a thing. I've searched through the entire library at Crocus, and none of the wizards were able to give me a clue. They told me to try Cassia's libraries. There might be something there."

"There has to be something! Something to bring them back. Something…"

"I know, Lu. I know."

O.O

A girl with sky-blue hair bumps into him at the docks and apologizes.

The rain is coming down in sheets, and he was just congratulating himself on the fact that he had made it out of the storm only mildly soaked when she barrels out of nowhere right into his chest, carrying a stack of books on magic.

He clicks his teeth, annoyed, and snaps something about being more careful.

Something about the way her eyes flash with pain makes him feel sick, as if he had eaten something bad (something metal?). Something in him wants to pat her on the head in apology, to ruffle up her unruly hair and call her a clumsy shorty but he doesn't.

He mutters something incoherent and turns away, walking past her back into the rain.

Gajeel could've sworn she was trembling.

O.O

"I've tracked down the wizard who used the spell on them. He won't give a damned inch, saying that the spell is irreversible."

"Is he in the holding cells?"

"Yeah. Listen, Erza-"

"Don't stop me, Gray. I will make him talk within an inch of his paltry life. I will make him regret the day he ever took up dark magic, and I will make him tell us the cure for our friends. Is that clear?"

"…Yes."

"Good. Now, take me to where he is."

O.O

She's wondering why he's following her.

It's not an unpleasant thing, being tailed by a boy with fairly good looks, but she is getting a little apprehensive. One must be wary of strangers, after all.

There's something about him, about that sigil on his shoulder, that makes her head hurt.

He seems familiar, almost familial, and there's something about him that makes her want to smile and laugh with him, to hold his hand shyly as they walk through a sunlit forest, but she doesn't.

She walks a circuitous path through a crowded marketplace, leaving him standing confused and alone in the square.

Wendy could've sworn he called for her.

O.O

"Can't believe they all just forgot."

"Yeah."

"It's weird, you know, seeing them sometimes, walking about? You almost call their name, but then you kind of look 'em in the eye and then you don't see anything. Nothing, no recognition at all."

"Why would the guy do this? It's worse than killing them."

"I heard he had a grudge against them. Said that it ain't natural for humans to possess the power of dragons. Said he's correcting a mistake."

"He's not correcting anything by taking their powers or their memories, if you ask me. By the way, what'd ya mean by, 'had'?"

"…Erza went down to talk with him."

"Oh. Poor bastard."

"I'd say he deserved it. Come on, Levy would be wanting these books soon."

O.O

The waitress with snow-white hair is giving him a bad vibe.

Her blue eyes are hauntingly sad, and it's making him feel strange, as it he was at fault somehow. She's hot, of course, and that's usually enough for him to notice a woman, but this time there's something different, something deeper than appearances that's affecting him.

She serves him his favorite beer, and when inquiringly prodded she just shrugs and blames coincidence.

For some reason, he wants to smirk at her and say, "Wasn't coincidence. You just like me enough to remember," but he doesn't.

He just says, in a thoughtful yet casual, "I see. Thank you."

Laxus could've sworn she flinched.

O.O

"One of the Council Elders says that there may be a countermeasure to the spell. It may be able to heal them completely."

"Really?! What do we need to do?"

"It involves using the same dark magic that was cast in the first place. It's real dicey, but the Elder tells me it may be the only way to resolve this whole mess. Oh, Lu…"

"We have to do this, Levy. For their sakes."

"Yeah…"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Here, I'll draw up a diagram."

O.O

He catches himself straining to listen.

It's strange, how often he would be hearing a conversation as he walks by, only to find himself wondering why he cannot know what they are thinking. It's both odd and disconcerting.

He's musing on this fact as a girl in a green dress sits quietly next to him, placing her luggage neatly to the side. The train is moving, and he's already regretting using this mode of transportation. He shifts so that he's facing away from the window.

The girl is quiet, reading a book about snakes, and for some reason, it makes him look twice at her. There's something about the shade of her hair that makes him do a double take, and suddenly he has a sudden desire to speak with her and listen to her thoughts (?), but he doesn't.

Instead, he turns back to look out the window. For some reason, the nausea he was expecting isn't so bad.

Cobra could've sworn she sighed.

O.O

"No. I absolutely forbid it!"

"But Master-!"

"My answer is no, Lucy. I will not allow any of you to participate in this…ritual. It is against the laws of wizarding, against nature itself!"

"That dark wizard messed up nature already when he tried to eliminate the Dragonslayers' powers. We have to restore their powers and memories! This is the only way to do that!"

"Gray, can you say for certain that you trust that this dark spell will restore _everything_ about the Dragonslayers? Everything that the wizard had undone, this spell will simply weave back together? Is it really this simple?"

"…"

"I want Natsu and the other back with us as much as you do. But you must consider the consequences of your actions should this ritual fail or even succeed. You will be branded a criminal as a dark magic user, and will be hunted down by the Rune Knights. You will have even less access to materials that could save the Dragonslayers. Will you want that?"

O.O

There's a girl sitting by the swimming pool, staring languidly at the water.

He cocks his head to one side, studying her. It's strange, why she's wearing a black swimsuit. With her shining silver hair, wouldn't white or blue be a better color for her?

He shakes his head in confusion. He's not the kind of guy to be interested in clothes at all. He's here to relax. He takes a deep breath and plunges into the water, swimming with powerful strokes to the surface where he breaches with a gasp.

She's staring at him, something open and wounded in her expression, and underneath the perplexity, he has a strange and sudden desire to splash her, to laugh while she flails back, but he doesn't.

He dives back under the water, swimming slowly to the other side of the pool.

Sting could've sworn she had bit her lip.

O.O

"Have you seen Lucy?"

"No, why?"

"Well, she was supposed to meet me here for dinner."

"I thought she was with you already!"

"…Crap."

"What?"

"It's a full moon tonight. Just like the ritual wanted."

"Oh, no."

"Well, don't just stand there! Get the Master! And find Miss Porlyusica! If she's attempting the ritual on her own, then she's going to be gravely drained!"

"Guys, have you seen Levy?"

O.O

He enters the training arena and the ringmaster tells him that it's occupied.

He nods and sits down to watch. The woman in the ring is obviously very skilled, swooping at her training partner with grace and agility that testified to years in training. Her unsheathed blade sings through the air, ringing shrilly when it collides with the sword of her training partner.

He frowns as he watches. Something was off about her stance, about the fact that her blade is a broadsword. There's a small, distant voice that is trying to remind him of something. Where had he seen her before?

The match ends, and the young woman bows to her opponent. As she walks out of the ring, he stands and makes his way over to her, snatching up a pair of katanas as he does so.

She glances at him as he nears, her eyes going to the swords in his hands, and for some reason he wants to ask her to fight with him, to feel the rush of adrenaline as they move to the steps of a deadly dance, to fight with a sword she is obviously more comfortable with, but he doesn't.

He just moves past her, giving her a brief nod before turning his attention to the training ring.

Rogue could've sworn her rigid posture slumped.

O.O

"What've you done?! What have you done?!"

"I…did it."

"You completed it all on your own? Are you completely out of your mind?!"

"Mmm…Levy helped…to…draw out the array. Thank her…."

"Lucy? Lucy?! Oh, God she's not breathing…"

"Stop shaking her so, girl. Let me take care of her. She is simply out of magic power. We must relocate to a different spot at once. The wizards in the area will sense the dark magic power and will want to investigate."

"Y-Yes."

"…"

"Is this going to fix the Dragonslayers? If Lucy had done all this just to have it fail….she would be a fugitive for nothing. It would break her…"

"We wait, Erza. We will soon see the results of the girls' sacrifice."

 _24 hours later_

He meets a golden-haired girl in the streets. She glances at him, a look of pained hope in her face. She greets him casually, cautiously.

Natsu laughs, slinging his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close as she squeals. "Lucy, why're you so stiff all of a sudden? C'mon, let's get back to the guild hall. I'm starving!"

O.O

 _Fin_


End file.
